


The Many Domestic Days of Naruto and Sasuke

by blueeyedslifer



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: Angst, Cooking, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Prompt Fic, Prompt Fill, Sickfic, Some Plot, Tumblr Prompt, most just self indulgent nonsense to get back into writing fics, some smut
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-30
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:34:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 14,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22025629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueeyedslifer/pseuds/blueeyedslifer
Summary: A series of prompt fics that are all tied around Naruto and Sasuke being together. Some are goofy. Some are filthy. Some are filled with angst. But all of them are about what it means to be in love.
Relationships: Uchiha Sasuke/Uzumaki Naruto
Comments: 19
Kudos: 117
Collections: Extraordinary SNS Fics💕





	1. Waking Up

There was a shift of the mattress as weight redistributed itself and caused Naruto to stir. He opened his eyes to see what it was that woke him, raising his head as he saw Sasuke squirming next to him, brows furrowed, breathing uneven, sweat on his forehead.

He was having another nightmare.

Careful so as not to wake him, Naruto shifted himself to snuggle tightly against Sasuke. He fit himself close enough to get Sasuke on his side, Naruto spooning him from behind, and bury his nose into the sweat-damp hair on Sasuke’s neck. This wasn’t the first time Sasuke had had a nightmare that woke him. The first time there had been yelling and a few punches before Naruto had managed to wake him up. Sasuke had refused to talk about it and Naruto gave up pushing him on the matter ages ago. Now he knew to just be there when he was needed.

Sasuke began to whimper slightly in his sleep and Naruto responded by kissing the naps of his neck, softly shushing the young man next to him until the sounds stopped. He knew eventually Sasuke’s breathing would return to normal, his muscles would relax, and the two of them could continue to sleep until morning. But Naruto also worried. He was always left concerned in the morning and he never quite managed to return to restful sleep when Sasuke had a nightmare. With a sigh, he tightened his hold around Sasuke and did his best to relax, himself…

The sun shone through the window and Sasuke let out a groan as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He had no idea what time it was but with the throbbing headache, he couldn’t say that he cared all that much. He made to roll over so he could face away from the sun but found himself stuck. Taking a little more time to pay attention to his surrounds he finally clicked in that he was at Naruto’s and the moron had his arms wrapped around him like a vice. 

Sasuke sighed. He must have had another nightmare. Naruto may have been affectionate, but it was only if Sasuke woke him up by mistake that their mornings tended to look like this. At least it explained the headache. 

Lifting one of Naruto’s arms, Sasuke managed to free himself enough to roll over. He expected to go back to sleep, but he caught Naruto’s sleepy smile looking back at him.

“Morin’,” Naruto muttered, but his eyes stayed closed.

“Tch. Be better if you didn’t have me in a death grip.”

Naruto breathed a laugh and snuggled under Sasuke’s chin. “Don’t give me a reason to, then.” There was a pause between them and Naruto moved again so he could look at Sasuke this time, “Sorry, I didn’t mean it like that.”

“I should go,” Sasuke replied, and climbed over Naruto to get out of bed.

“Sasuke, wait,” Naruto said quickly, sitting up and grabbing Sasuke’s hand before he could leave the room. “I was just worried.”

Sasuke sighed, “I can handle it. It’s nothing you should be worrying about.”

“I know you can handle it. But…” Naruto sighed. “You don’t need to carry it all around on your own anymore. I’m here to share that weight.”

Sasuke felt himself stiffen at the words. How many times had Naruto offered to help because he _wanted_ to? And how many times had Sasuke brushed him off thinking it was because he felt it was out of pity? It wasn’t until Naruto actually _said_ it, said that he didn’t need to be alone with his burdens, that he finally realized it was true. 

“Sasuke?”

The young man sat down on the edge of the bed, grip tightening on Naruto’s hand as he looked at him with a small smile. “Thank you,” he said softly and brought Naruto’s hand to his lips, brushing a soft kiss across his knuckles. “Now get up so we can eat.”

Naruto’s smile covered his whole face as he lunged forward and kissed Sasuke, who grumbled out a half-hearted, “ _Usuratonkachi.”_


	2. Morning Routine

To say Sasuke was a morning person was far from the truth, but he _was_ more of a morning person than Naruto was. He was usually the first one up if he hadn’t had any nightmares that woke Naruto, and Sasuke used the time for himself. With the apartment quiet and calm, he would make himself some tea, get the coffee ready for when Naruto _did_ wake up, and snack on something until they could have breakfast together.

This morning was quieter than usual, the only real sound outside of the bedroom the pitter-patter of rainfall against the kitchen windows. Sasuke watched it, the weather sending a chill over his skin despite the hot tea warming his hands. So much had changed over the years. He used to wake up alone and do just this, especially when it rained. But he wasn’t alone anymore and the feeling struck his chest harder than expected. Sasuke’s brow scrunched up as he turned his gaze away from the window and into the steaming tea in his hands. His reflection showed his frustration but without any insight into this surge of sentimentality attacking him.

“Did the tea call you a bad name?”

Sasuke turned to see Naruto grinning at him from the doorway to the bedroom, but he could also see a trace of concern in those big blue eyes.

“No, but it has a lot to say about how stupid you are,” Sasuke said, willing away the tension between his brows. 

Naruto rolled his eyes and came over to Sasuke, placing a hand on his shoulder as he leaned down to kiss him. Their lips met, soft skin on skin, and Sasuke’s eyes closed slowly as Naruto smiled against him. “Good morning to you, too,” the blonde said softly.

“Good morning,” Sasuke replied, eyes opening again as a faint warmth flushed his cheeks as Naruto turned towards the counter. “Coffee is there for you, just push the button.”

“I know how to work the coffee maker, Sasuke,” Naruto said.

“And yet you almost started a fire with it just last week.”

“That wasn’t my fault and you know it!”

Their back and forth continued through Naruto’s coffee and well into the preparation of breakfast and their bickering only lead to laughter that drowned out the rain on the other side of the glass. 

A lot had changed over the last few years. 

So much of it for the better.


	3. Doing Laundry

“Seriously, what in the hell is this?”

Naruto threw the balled up fabric at Sasuke, who caught it without a problem but with a touch of confusion. “My shirt?” he replied.

“Yeah, I know that, dumbass. What the hell is it covered in?!”

Sasuke knew what Naruto meant before he unbundled the piece of clothing, but unbundled it all the same. He didn’t quite manage to cover his wince as he saw all of the stains, however. “Mud,” he said.

“And?” Naruto pushed.

“And blood, Naruto. I only just got back from a mission last night.”

“Is it your blood?”

“Well considering it’s darkest around the tears, I’d say yeah it is.”

Naruto crossed his arms and Sasuke didn’t understand why that made him get defensive, why Naruto’s concern was suddenly setting off his anger.

“It shouldn’t even be in the damn wash,” Sasuke said, balling the shirt up again and stomping over to the trash. “No point patching up a shirt that has more holes in it than your damn head.” 

“Sasuke, that’s not why I-”

“Then what?” Sasuke snapped and the air stilled around them. The hurt in Naruto’s eyes felt like Sasuke was being stabbed all over again. “I didn’t… Naru… I’m sorry…” The ruined shirt was still clenched tightly in his hands and Sasuke glared heatedly at it. 

Naruto walked over to him, taking the cloth from Sasuke’s hands and leaning in to kiss along his high cheekbone. “Talk to me,” was all he whispered.

It took Sasuke a moment, but he gave in after he looked Naruto in the eye again. “It isn’t anything worth talking about. Few superficial wounds easily patched that just look like they bled out more than they did. I knew you’d worry so I didn’t bother mentioning it. It was still a success at the end of the day.”

Naruto nodded, “So instead you left a blood-soaked shirt that had been ripped to shreds on the top of the hamper? Yeah, that’s definitely going to keep me from worrying about you, moron.”

The way he said it, it made Sasuke smirk. “Well, it certainly kept us from picking a fight with each other.” 

With a roll of his eyes, Naruto tossed the shirt over his shoulder and pulled Sasuke closer to him. “Whaddya say we pick a different kind of fight, ne?”

“After I just finished tell you I’m wounded?”

“Well, I should really inspect those injuries of yours. Just to be sure. I mean you clearly haven’t been thinking straight.”

“Dobe,” Sasuke said with a roll of his eyes, but still brought his hands up to hold the sides of Naruto’s neck. He came close enough to kiss the other man but held back, a smirk on his face, “Finish the laundry first.”

With that, he pulled away and turned to leave the room, flashing a devilish smirk Naruto’s way.

Naruto flushed with annoyance, “Teme!”

Sasuke’s quiet laughter filled the room just before he walked away.


	4. Night In

The door smacked into the wall with a bang and Naruto trudging through it. He was exhausted, the bags under his years darker than ever, his vibrant blue eyes dull. This Hokage gig was far from the fun he thought it would be when he was kid. His nerves were fried and his will to do anything productive was dead.

“Oh there you are,” Sasuke said. “I was about to send out a search party.”

“Ha. Ha,” Naruto replied dryly, running a hand over his face.

“Well, at least you’re in time to head out to-“

Naruto was across the room in a split second, cutting Sasuke off with a hand over his mouth. “No. I am not going anywhere. You are not going anywhere. We are going to sit down and do nothing.”

Sasuke pulled Naruto’s hand away from his mouth, placing a kiss on bandaged knuckles. There was a grin on his face despite Naruto’s seriousness. “Hokage’s orders?”

“You’re damn right.”

“A night in it is, then.”

Naruto nodded his approval and slinked away into the bedroom to change. When he emerged at last, clad in only his loose pajama bottoms and the night cap he had since he was a kid, the smell of ramen lured him to the couch where Sasuke sat over two steaming bowls. With a lazy smile he sunk down next to Sasuke, jostling him as the cushions shifted with the added weight.

“Watch it, dobe, you’ll spill ramen everywhere.”

“As if. You should know me well enough by now to know I don’t waste ramen.”

“I know you well enough by now to know you’re a dumbass.”

“Teme.”

Sasuke chuckled to himself as they ate. There was a movie of some kind or another playing on the tv but he wasn’t really paying attention. To be honest, he didn’t think Naruto was either but the background noise was nice. It wasn’t as if they had plans to go anywhere special, just out for the sake of being out, but it had also been so long since it had been just the two of them spending a quiet night in. Sasuke had forgot how nice it was.

They finished their meals and Sasuke took the bowls back into the kitchen. The second he was up, Naruto flopped across the length of the couch. He was so tired, but he also knew how long it had been to have an evening like this.

“You’re in my spot,” Sasuke said as he came back and Naruto shifted just enough for him to sit back down, but put his head in Sasuke’s lap the moment he did.

Sasuke pulled the silly hat off of Naruto’s head before hand came to rest in his hair, softly tangling his fingers in the messy blonde strands. “It’s not like you to not talk about your day,” he said, making sure he didn’t come across as pushy.

“Mmn,” Naruto replied vaguely. “Gimme my hat back.”

“You got home late.” Naruto made another vague noise and Sasuke sighed. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Didn’t you just comment that I normally talk about my day?”

“And you aren’t.”

“Maybe there’s a reason for that.”

Another sigh and Sasuke took his fingers out of Naruto’s hair to rub at his temples, “Does every conversation need to be an argument?”

Naruto rolled onto his back so he could look up at Sasuke. “No,” he said, softly. “I’m sorry. I just… It’s not worth complaining about.”

“No one ever said being Hokage was an easy job,” Sasuke teased, playing with Naruto’s hair again.

“That would have been helpful to know when I was still a kid.”

“As if you would have listened. Besides, I’m pretty sure everyone you ever met questioned you about it.”

Naruto took Sasuke’s free hand with his own and entwined their fingers. “And yet here I am proving them so very wrong. Especially you.”

“Why me especially?”

“You once told me you hated me and now you’re playing with my hair.”

Sasuke tugged on Naruto’s hair just sharply enough to pull a little “Hey!” out of him while he laughed. “Too bad I still think you’re an idiot,” Sasuke smirked.

“Fine, but you need to accept that I’m _you’re_ idiot.”

Sasuke groaned but his smirk didn’t waiver. “Would you believe me if I said I hated you now?”

“Not a chance,” Naruto said and brought Sasuke’a palm to his lips while Sasuke let out another groan of annoyance. After a moment of quiet between them, Naruto asked, “Are you watching this?”

“Nope. You?”

“Nope.”

“Let’s go to bed, then. I’m exhausted.”

“Too exhausted for a different kind of entertainment?”

Naruto got up with a grunt and a stretch. “Why didn’t you say so earlier?”

Sasuke put his hands on Naruto’s waist and pulled him between his knees, looking up at the blonde as his chin pressed against his stomach, “Because someone was being pissy.”

Naruto tangled his fingers in Sasuke’s dark hair, a possessiveness in his grip as he smiled down at the other man. “So what’s stopping you now?”

It was hard for Sasuke not to roll his eyes again but he kept it together with a smirk instead. “I’m not carrying you to bed if you fall asleep afterwards. Get your ass in bed.”

“You can’t boss me around. I’m the Hokage after all.”

“Yeah, we’ll see who’s really in charge in a moment.”

Naruto grinned as he leaned down to kiss Sasuke, words caressing his lips just before they touched, “Bring it on.”


	5. Nighttime Routine

Naruto grumpily brushed his teeth, glaring at the mirror. He was wearing his ratty pajama bottoms, one of Sasuke’s shirts, and his night hat that Sasuke despised to the point of trying to throw it out on multiple occasions. The other man was meant to be home by now. The mission he had gone out on would take any regular ninja no more than a week, about double the time someone of Sasuke’s calibre would need, and Naruto was annoyed that he needed to spend yet another night in bed by himself. 

Sakura had taken him to Ichiraku in an attempt to cheer him up, but it wasn’t of much use. 

“I’m sure he’s fine,” Sakura said, walking her friend home after dinner. “He always is.”

But that wasn’t the problem.

Naruto _knew_ that Sasuke was fine, it was the waiting for him to come back that he hated. After spending so much of his life trying to drag Sasuke back to Konoha, Naruto couldn’t help but grow anxious when he wasn’t 100% sure of Sasuke’s whereabouts. It was a foolish anxiety to have, but he had a hard time shaking the voice that whispered from the back of his mind, “This is the time he won’t come back.”

Spitting out the toothpaste and rinsing the remainder with a glass of water, Naruto stalked off to bed, dragging his feet behind him as he went. The mattress was soft as he flopped down on it, bouncing slightly with the force of his flopping, but it wasn’t as warm as he wanted it to be. It didn’t smell right without Sasuke around. Normally Sasuke was properly ready for bed first. He had a routine and stuck to it. A warm cup of tea before a shower, or a bath if it had been a long day, then he would brush his teeth before kissing Naruto goodnight, disappearing into the bedroom to put his own pajamas on in place of the towel that would be around his waist. Naruto would trail after him a few minutes later, having finished any last-minute work or giving up on it entirely, snuggling close against his side. Sometimes Naruto would be the big spoon and have Sasuke snuggled close to his chest. Other times, Sasuke would spoon him from behind and Naruto would fall asleep feeling his breath between his shoulder blades.

But there was none of that tonight.

Naruto attempted to sleep on his back, but only found himself glaring at the ceiling. Sleeping on his sides wasn’t an option either as he couldn’t get comfortable no matter how hard he tried. Not even when he tried to hug a pillow in place of having Sasuke with him. Opting for his stomach, Naruto buried his face in Sasuke’s pillow, breathing in the scent of him and hoping it would help in drift off to sleep. Instead, it just felt like he was trying to suffocate himself.

“Damnit, Sasuke!” Naruto scolded into the pillow, his voice muffled against the cushy pillow, and then sat up. This wasn’t going to work. 

Feeling huffy, Naruto pulled the blankets and Sasuke’s pillow from the bed and went back out to the couch. He turned on the TV and laid down. If he wasn’t going to sleep, he’d at least be comfortable…

Hours passed and the sound of the tv played softly throughout the apartment. At first, Sasuke thought Naruto was still up, until he heard the snores over the infomercial playing on the small screen. He was exhausted. The mission had been a success but trouble had sprung up on the way back to the village, causing a delay that couldn’t be avoided. Despite how tired he was, Sasuke came around the couch, crouching in front of Naruto and reached up to push his bangs off of his forehead.

Naruto stirred at the touch. “’m mad at you,” he muttered, still mostly asleep.

“I’m sorry,” Sasuke said, stilling toying with the bit of Naruto’s hair that poked out from beneath his hat. “Come to bed.”

“Mmm,” Naruto groaned, but did as he was told, clinging to the pillow as he dragged his feet back into the bedroom. 

Sasuke shook his head with a smile and grabbed the blankets before he followed. Naruto was out cold again the moment he crawled into bed and Sasuke spread the blankets over him before going to change himself. He was desperate for a shower but thought against it for the time being and skipped to brushing his teeth and throwing on the first pair of pajama pants he came across. Back in the bedroom, he crawled beneath the covers and pressed himself against Naruto’s back. 

“I missed you,” Sasuke whispered and felt Naruto’s muscles relax entirely as he pressed his nose between his shoulder blades and fell asleep.


	6. Groceries

“Put them back,” Sasuke said with annoyance.

“No,” Naruto replied, pouting.

“Naruto, there is no way in hell that you’re going to eat all of that before it goes stale.”

“You’ll eat some, too. Don’t you dare try to convince me you don’t like it.”

“That’s not the point.”

“Beside,” Naruto continued, “it’s instant ramen. It doesn’t get stale.”

Sasuke sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He should have just gone grocery shopping on his own and returned with real, _healthy_ food. But nope. Here was Konoha’s Lord Hokage bickering with his partner in the middle of the grocery store over the expiry of instant ramen.

“Yes, actually, it does,” Sasuke said. “So at least put some of it back for someone else who might want some.”

“Sasuke,” Naruto protested.

“Naruto, people are staring. Just put the damn ramen back so we can finish getting things we actually need.”

Naruto held his ground, crossing his arms like he was still a petulant 12-year-old. Sasuke swallowed his groan and fought the urge to punch the blonde square in his stupid face. But he knew better than to throw down in the middle of a store, and instead Sasuke tried appealing to Naruto’s inner desires.

“Put half of it back and I’ll take you to Ichiraku.”

Naruto held his face still, which would have been impressive for him but Sasuke could see the way the light in his eyes changed and held back a smirk.

“Deal,” Naruto managed to say evenly and pull out one of the full cases of instant cup ramen he had put in their cart. He returned the case to it’s spot on the shelf and returned back to Sasuke with a grin on his face.

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he continued through the store, picking up meat and vegetables to put some real meals together between all of the ramen. Naruto’s stomach may have been able to handle all of that junk, but Sasuke’s was definitely not. Naruto bounced along beside him like a child wanting to go home, but Sasuke managed to mostly ignore it while they checked out and finally left.

“Where are you going?” Naruto asked.

Sasuke looked down at the bags he was carrying and looked back up at Naruto with a furrowed brow. “To put the groceries away.”

“But you said you’d take me to Ichiraku!”

Sasuke swore to himself, his head falling back to look up at the sky. “Naruto, they’ll spoil. Stop being a brat.”

“Sas-“

Sasuke cut him off, having had more than enough. His lips pressed firmly against Naruto’s and the Hokage’s hands came to rest at his waist, holding him in place. Sasuke would have shoved him for good measure when he felt Naruto kiss back, but his hands were full so instead he stood as tall as he could, the two centimetres different between them breaking the kiss.

“Come on,” Sasuke said, turning against Naruto’s gentle hold on him and walking away. “We need to put these away.”

“And then Ichiraku?” Naruto laughed at the growl that came out of Sasuke and he reached to grab one of the grocery bags. Having freed one of Sasuke’s hands, he entwined their fingers as they continued to walk home. “I’m teasing, idiot.”

“You’re the idiot causing a scene in the dumb grocery store over ramen.”

Naruto kissed Sasuke’s cheek, “Yeah, but now you’re buying me lunch, soooo…”

Sasuke groaned almost as loud as Naruto laughed.


	7. Exercising

Sweat ran down Naruto’s brow, his breathing heavy and bordering on ragged, but he stood his ground with his teeth bared. He wasn’t going down. Not a chance in hell.

“Getting tired, dobe?” Sasuke taunted, but it was only a mask of confidence. He felt as weary as Naruto looked, he was just better at hiding it.

Normally, Sasuke wouldn’t bother feeding into Naruto’s demands for a fight, but this time he had pushed too hard against Sasuke’s nerves. As usual, Kakashi had just looked the other way and Sakura yelled at Naruto to cut it out, but a chance to burn off some steam felt right. It was just the two of them in the trees, and they had lost track of how long they’d been sparing. Not that it mattered, really.

Naruto ignored Sasuke’s poking and charged him again, letting out his own version of a war cry. Sasuke met him head-on and they collided with a bomb-like crash of chakra. Their fists struck like bricks, every shift of bone felt by the other as they punched and kicked. Sasuke got a hold of Naruto’s ankle mid-kick and used the momentum to throw him against the thick trunk of a tree. Naruto hit it and the sound of cracking bark echoed around them.

“You’re going to need to try harder than that to keep me down,” Naruto growled as he staggered back to his feet.

Sasuke had to admit, it was hard to keep Naruto down. The idiot somehow managed to get back up no matter how hard he got hit. It made Sasuke push harder, as much as he hated to admit it. Saying nothing in response, Sasuke shifted his footing back into his defensive stance, ready to throw Naruto’s weight again if he needed to do more than simply step out of the way.

“How about we make this more interesting,” Naruto said.

“What do you mean?” Sasuke asked, genuinely confused.

“If I win you do one thing I ask, and if you win I do something for you.”

Sasuke was torn. As much as he just wanted to go home, the idea of being able to ask Naruto to do something was appealing. He could tell him to be quiet at all times, or to quit being a ninja all together and thus not be around to bother Sasuke entirely.

“Deal,” Sasuke said, widening his stance as he got ready for Naruto to come at him.

Naruto ran and Sasuke shifted his weight again but was faked out as Naruto ran to the side, ducking down before throwing a kunai at him. Sasuke dodged but only when it was too late did he realize what Naruto had done. The kunai shifted into a shadow clone just behind him, jumping onto his back to pull him to the ground. Knowing he wasn’t able to avoid the hold, Sasuke threw all his weight backwards to slam the clone into the ground beneath him. The clone held firm - Naruto’s specialty being solid, flesh and blood shadow clones - and Sasuke felt the wind knocked out of both of them. The real Naruto was on him then and delivered a swift few punches before Sasuke was able to regain himself, and the clone vanished in a puff of smoke. Before Naruto could land another hit, Sasuke reached up behind Naruto and rolled them so now he was on top, straddling the other ninja.

He landed a punch of his own before Naruto got one back. It wasn’t long before their battle of ninjutsu technique turned into little more than a schoolyard fistfight. Punching and kicking like the children they were, Sasuke just felt frustrated. He could best in technique, in strength, in wits… So why wouldn’t Naruto just match him? The other boy was an idiot, but he wasn’t stupid. If Naruto only tried, really tried, then he might actually be on level with Sasuke.

Or he might even surpass him.

With that thought haunting him, Sasuke reminded himself what he was doing here. He reminded himself at his goals, of who he needed to overcome in order to keep on track. Throwing chakra into his fist he threw a punch and sent Naruto sprawling, ass over teakettle, into the base of a tree. Sasuke moved before the other boy had a chance to recover and did the same thing again, putting force into his blow to keep Naruto down. A third time was a chance, but he took it, and Naruto caught the blow in a clenched fist. His nose was bleeding and he was breathing heavy and ragged through his mouth.

But he was smiling.

The smile threw Sasuke off guard and he let up a little, relaxing the muscles in his arm ever so slightly. “What are you smiling at?” he found himself asking through his tight jaw.

“You broke my nose, you bastard,” he laughed. “You must really want me to do something for you.”

Sasuke dropped his arm entirely as Naruto let go of his fist. “It was your stupid bet,” he said. “Does this mean you yield?”

“Yeah,” Naruto admitted, “but don’t think you’ll be able to beat me next time. I’ll kick your ass into next week.”

“Big words coming from someone who has a mouth full of blood.” Sasuke cringed in mild disgust as Naruto spit out a glob of blood, but the idiot was still smiling.

“So what do you want?” Naruto asked.

“I don’t want anything from you,” Sasuke replied, maybe a little too fast.

Naruto stood up and put his hands behind his head like he always did when he was goofing around with someone. “Aw, come on. You wouldn’t have hit me so hard if you didn’t want to win something.”

Sasuke looked his teammate over. He was covered in the blood dripping from his nose, he was dirty and scuffed and bruised from the brawl… But his crystal blue eyes still sparkled and his smile was still like the sun cutting through clouds. It pissed Sasuke off that someone like this could lose so much and still be so vibrant. Sasuke took a step forward, and then another, moving fast as the centimetres closed between them. His lips ghosted over Naruto’s and he felt the other boy’s breath hitch on the inhale. “Try harder to beat me next time,” Sasuke said. “Give me a reason to get better.”

He felt Naruto’s breath on his face and the boy nodded, the shock of their closeness in his blue eyes. “I will,” he whispered back and the words were like velvet against Sasuke’s lips.

“Good,” he said and just like that he was out of Naruto’s personal space and walking away from the woods. 

“Sasuke, wait,” Naruto called. Sasuke thought about just continuing to walk away, but something in him made him stop. He turned and Naruto ran lopsidedly up to him.

“What now?” Sasuke groaned to cover his odd feelings behind his typical cold frustration.

Naruto came up close, hovering on the out rim of Sasuke’s personal space. His cheeks had a light pink dusting on them that made Sasuke frown. Naruto wasn’t one to get embarrassed.

“Forget it,” he said, looking at his feet. “It’s nothing.”

“It was important enough to call me back.”

“Well, um…” Naruto stammered, “just now when you…”

“When I was, you idiot?” But then Sasuke clued in. “Oh.”

“Yeah, never mind. Just forget it.”

Naruto turned on his heel, but Sasuke moved fast and he pulled him back. “Beat me,” he said. “Beat me and we’ll see.”

The blonde boy’s face was bright red, his eyes fixed on Sasuke’s. “Really?”

Sasuke bit back a sigh and leaned forward, brushing his lips at the corner of Naruto’s mouth. It was a kiss, but also _not_ a kiss. He pulled away, “Really.”

The two boys stood there for a moment in the quiet of the forest, just looking at each other, and then they went their separate ways out of the trees. Naruto with a beaming smile, Sasuke with a smaller one.


	8. Clothing Swap

Spilling his soup had been Sasuke’s first problem. His second one was that he had left Naruto to do the laundry but given the moron’s forgetfulness and busy schedule, it had not yet been done. Grudgingly, Sasuke got everything together and just did the laundry himself. However, that left him with nothing of his own to wear, given that he wasn’t one for keeping loads of clothes anyway.

He had just settled down on the couch in his briefs when the phone rang. The man groaned but knew he needed to answer it. Only a handful of people had the number and if any of them were calling, it was because they needed him urgently.

“Sasuke, I need to here. Fast.”

It was Naruto. “Here meaning the council rooms?”

“Yeah. Please. I need your help.”

“On my way,” Sasuke said. He’d get the details when he got there. 

Just as he was about to reach for the door, Sasuke remembered his laundry situation. With some muttered curses, Sasuke did a lap of the apartment to see what he could do. In the bedroom, he found one of Naruto’s old tracksuits buried in a box in the back of the closet. The orange and black were so hideously garish, but he had little choice in the matter and put it on so he could leave. The material was soft and cozy, smelling strongly of Naruto despite having been stuffed in a box for several years. The more shocking thing was that it fit Sasuke rather well, even if the sleeves were about an inch too short. Dressed well enough for an emergency call, Sasuke crossed town to see what it was the Hokage needed…

“Sorry for the delay,” Sasuke said, walking into the council room and toying with the sleeves to see if he could pull them down farther. 

“Wow,” Shikamaru said from one side of the table, “looking good there, Uchiha.”

Sasuke looked up and saw that most of the council was snickering as they looked over the tracksuit that was so very clearly Naruto’s. The relationship the Hokage shared with his right-hand, was one of the worst-kept secrets within Konohagakure, but this was probably the most blatant display of what happened behind closed doors. Sasuke felt his cheeks warm at the attention, but did his best to ignore it. He should have known better than to assume it would be just him and Naruto…

“What seems to be the problem?” Sasuke said, sitting down in his usual spot and wanted to just get to business. Lucky for him, his fellow council members took the hint and got down to it. 

The meeting went along, even if it did take longer than it should have. Tactical plans were needed for a small-ish rogue uprising in the northernmost part of the Land of Fire. But a small rogue uprising was still a problem that needed to be dealt with as quickly as possible to avoid it spinning out of control. The entire meeting, Sasuke did his best to avoid making direct eye contact with Naruto. He could feel Naruto’s gaze on him, the other man radiating with his need to say something about Sasuke wearing his clothes. That had to be it, otherwise, he wouldn’t keep looking at Sasuke the way he did the entire meeting.

Hours later, the meeting let out, everyone eyeballing Sasuke as they left and making snide remarks quietly to each other. Sasuke found himself growing annoyed at how much gossip was exchanged within the village hall, but his thoughts on the matter were interrupted by Naruto.

“What are you wearing?” he asked once they were alone.

“ _Someone_ forgot to do laundry and I had nothing to wear when you called.” Sasuke looked at Naruto now and saw that his partner was blushing. Sasuke held down his smirk and walked close to Naruto, slipping his arms around his waist when he was close enough, and pulling him in to press against his chest.

“S-sorry,” Naruto said.

“Is there a problem?” Sasuke asked, his voice just as teasing as Shikamaru’s had been. “Should I take it off?”

“The door doesn’t lock,” Naruto squeaked and Sasuke smirked at him. 

“Your office does.”

Naruto’s face went scarlet and Sasuke stepped away, promptly leaving the council room to go down the all to Naruto’s private office. The Hokage was hot on his heels as he followed behind. The pair entered Naruto’s office, Sasuke holding the door for him before slamming it shut and locking it. The click of the lock sounded and Sasuke instantly found himself pressed against the wood of the door.

Naruto’s kiss was hungry as he devoured Sasuke, his hands tangling in Sasuke’s hair and held him firmly against the door. Sasuke kissed back, tongue and teeth, his own hands fisting the front of Naruto’s jacket. Naruto shifted and he could feel the heat of him through his pants, solid and heavy against his leg.

“So needy,” Sasuke breathed as Naruto’s mouth went to his neck, just below his jawline.

Naruto didn’t respond with words, instead just biting down on the skin and smiling when Sasuke’s breath hitched with a small gasp.

Sasuke’s hands came up and he tossed Naruto’s Hokage hat to the side before tangling his own fingers in Naruto’s fluffy blonde hair. He let his head fall back against the door as Naruto moved further down his neck, one of his hands letting go of the raven hair and coming to rest as Sasuke’s hip. Sasuke rocked forward with every movement. Naruto pulled away from his throat to kiss him again and his hands moved down to the front of the pants Sasuke was wearing.

“On the desk,” Sasuke breathed.

Naruto smirked at him, “It’s starting to sound like you planned this.”

Sasuke yanked on his hair but Naruto only laughed, “No, you moron. But if you fuck me against the door of your office, it’ll be even _less_ subtle that we’re sleeping together than me showing up wearing your goddamn clothes.”

“Whatever you say.” Naruto yanked Sasuke across the room by his pants, kissing him the whole way across. Sasuke unzipped the jacket, revealing his bare chest while Naruto pushed him onto the desk. “No shirt?” he asked.

“Again, _someone_ didn’t do the laundry.”

“This isn’t making me sorry for forgetting.”

“I hate you,” Sasuke said as he shifted back on the desk, Naruto coming between his knees.

“You say that now,” Naruto replied, tugging at the fly of the pants.

“You’ll need to move faster than that if you expect me to say something different.”

As if on a cue, Naruto pulled the garishly orange pants down and replied with a grin, “So needy.”

Sasuke would have punched him if Naruto hadn’t wrapped his hand around his cock. Instead he let himself fall back to rest on his elbows, pushing papers off the other side of the desk as he did so. Naruto managed to pull the pants off and Sasuke’s sandals with them, all while slowly jerking him off. The sight of the other man wearing nothing but his old jacket and sprawled out on his desk was more beautiful than anything else Naruto had seen. And he had seen Sasuke in a _number_ of beautiful positions.

Naruto let go of Sasuke’s erection to pull down his pants and free his own erection. He stroked himself a few times while Sasuke watched, hungrily.

“You gonna get yourself ready?” Naruto teased, removing the rest of his clothes.

Sasuke brought a hand to his mouth, pouting seductively as he kissed the tips of his own fingers. “Do I _really_ have to do everything today?”

“You’re not doing everything today. I was working until you showed up like this.”

Sasuke let out a groan, “Will you shut up already and get over here?”

Naruto didn’t snap back for once, but did as he was asked. He settled between Sasuke’s legs, pulling the man’s hand to his lips and wrapping his lips around Sasuke’s forefingers. It was pornographic, the way Naruto used his tongue to wet them and Sasuke felt his cheeks flush as he watched. He wanted to touch himself, but held off, knowing Naruto would only swat his hand away if he tried. Satisfied with his handy work, Naruto slowly pulled Sasuke’s fingers out of his mouth and watched as the man beneath him brought them down to his hole. It was Naruto’s turn to flush as he watched the fingers slowly disappear into Sasuke’s ass, pale skin turning flushed with every thrust of that equally pale hand.

Naruto licked his palm as he watched, stroking himself in time with Sasuke’s own ministrations. 

“You want it?” Sasuke asked with a quirked brow.

“Since you walked into that stupid council room.”

“Then get over here,” Sasuke repeated with a crooked smirk that was quickly wiped from his face as Naruto pressed inside of him. Sasuke’s back arched off the wood of the desk and his head pressed hard against it, lips parted as his breathing hitched.

Naruto breathed a laugh as he bent over his partner to kiss at his bared throat. “Not so bossy now, are we?” Sasuke relaxed around him and shot a glare up which only made Naruto grin back down at him.

The other man made to say something in response, but Naruto took the moment to snap his hips and Sasuke’s words died in his throat with a groan and his thighs pressed against Naruto’s hips. 

Naruto loved these moments when he had sex with Sasuke, the moments where he could silence the grumpy bastard to the point where the only sounds that escaped those pale lips were the small moans that urged Naruto on. He thrust into the other man, standing upright to hold onto sharp hips as sweat formed on both of their foreheads. 

“N-naruto,” Sasuke gasped as Naruto’s cock hit deeply. 

“What?” Naruto asked softly, pushing in to the hilt and staying there.

“C-co-” Sasuke couldn’t get the words out so he reached up and pulled Naruto down to him, kissing the blonde man deeply as his fingers tangled in his hair.

Naruto moaned into the kiss and let their tongues tangle before he moved his hips again. Sasuke held him close as he felt himself reaching his peak, not wanting to break their kiss until one of them came. Hard as he fought against the pleasure of Naruto’s cock inside of him, Sasuke was the first to do so, moaning as he coated Naruto’s stomach. Naruto slowed his pace as Sasuke relaxed into the desk, smiling at him while Sasuke slowly let his fingers slip from Naruto’s hair. 

“Don’t slow down,” Sasuke said quietly.

“I’ve got a better idea,” Naruto grinned, kissing him as he pulled out. 

It took Sasuke a moment to get what he meant, but once it clicked he carefully slid off of the desk and onto the floor. On his knees, he smiled up at Naruto for a moment before taking his erection into his mouth. He closed his eyes, savouring the taste of himself on Naruto as he took it all in. Naruto moaned low as his fingers tangled in Sasuke’s hair, his hips rocking carefully forward. Sasuke always was good with his tongue, and it didn’t take long before Naruto was practically yanking on his hair. 

“Sasuke,” Naruto moaned in warning, knowing he was reaching his limit. 

Sasuke pulled back in time for Naruto to cum over his face, pale skin glistening with it and sweat.

Naruto breathed a laugh through his panting and let himself sink to his knees before Sasuke, letting his hands come down to cup his face. He leaned in to kiss him, letting his tongue dart out to clean up the miss he had made around Sasuke’s lips. 

“I’ll need to forget to do laundry more often,” Naruto teased. 

“As if you ever remember to do it in the first place,” Sasuke shot back, wrapping his arms around Naruto’s shoulders.

“Fine, then I should forget to do _your_ laundry more often.”

“ _Usuratonkachi.”_

“Love you, too, _teme_. Get dressed so we can go home now.”

“I thought you were busy working.”

Naruto rolled his eyes, “I _was_ until you came in like this. Didn’t we go over this already?”

“Get back to work, _Lord Hokage_.”

Naruto let out a whiny groan as Sasuke slipped out of his grasp and pulled on the pants he had been wearing. He also grabbed Naruto’s Hokage cloak and wiped his face with it, being sure he was presentable again before tossing it to Naruto with a wink and heading out the door.

“Aw, Sasuke! That’s so not fair!”


	9. Sick

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke is _not_ sick. He is _not_. And yet for some ridiculous reason, Naruto believes otherwise.

The room felt hot and sweaty and kept... moving. 

With a groan, Sasuke sat up in bed and held a hand to his forehead. He couldn't tell if it was his head or his hand that was warm or which part of him was sweaty. Feet on the solid wood of the floors, Sasuke kept his eyes closed and focused on getting his bearings before risking standing up. Feeling stable, he opened his eyes and made for the bathroom to get ready for the day. He had work to do after all. This was no time to falling victim to a small bought of dizziness. It would pass once he had something to drink and a small breakfast. 

"Sasuke?"

At the sound of his name, Sasuke looked up but squinted slightly as the bright lights of the bathroom felt like daggers in his eyes. "You're up early, Naruto," he said to his partner, sidestepping to get around him and grab his toothbrush.

"It's after seven. You're the one who slept in..." Naruto's voice trailed off for a moment before he said, "Maybe you should go back to bed."

"Yeah right. I've got work to do today."

Naruto made a noise in his throat that was clearly one of disproval. "Sasuke, have you seen what you look like right now?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he looked in the mirror but quickly had to fight to keep himself from wincing. There were dark bags under bloodshot eyes, his cheeks were flushed and shiny with sweat, and the rest of his face was far paler than usual. He _did_ look terrible. "I... don't see what you're talking about."

"Sasuke-"

"I'm fine, Naruto. You're going to hold yourself up if you keep standing around like that." Sasuke began brushing his teeth, carefully avoiding his reflection while not making it look like that was what he was doing. There was no way he was sick. He was just up too late. The heat was turned too high. There were dozens of reasons why Sasuke was feeling the way he was. A glass of water, a bit of breakfast. He'd be fine.

Naruto pouted while he walked away, full of concern for the other man. The previous night Sasuke had been tossing and turning the whole time, badly enough that it actually woke Naruto up. The sweating had been a sure sign of a fever and Naruto braved the chill of the night to turn off the heater in hopes of helping after he couldn't wake him up. It wasn't exactly Naruto's forte when it came to healing of... any kind, really. He'd thought about calling Sakura but it was late so he figured it would be better to wait until morning and see how Sasuke was doing before acting on anything. 

What Naruto should have seen coming was Sasuke not being a very good patient. It would be the obvious response for him to deny being sick at all... even when he looked worse than his brother who had literally come back from the dead.

With a sigh, Naruto made breakfast for the two of them and sat down to eat while he waiting anxiously for Sasuke to join him. 

It wasn't long before a haphazardly dressed Sasuke sat down across from Naruto at the table, looking grumpier than normal and barely awake. Naruto kept his concerns to himself as he ate, but he didn't know what else there was to say so he kept his mouth uncharacteristically shut.

"What?" Sasuke snapped after a moment.

"Y-you, um... You missed a button on your waistcoat..."

Sasuke said nothing, even though a vein twitched at his temple, and picked up his chopsticks.

"Do you want me-"

"Naruto, I swear to God, if you offer to help me get dressed I'm going to kill you with these chopsticks. I can manage buttons one-handed."

Naruto held up his hands in his defence, silently reminding himself it wasn't a personal attack. "Okay, okay... I've got a meeting in a few so I'm gonna head out." Naruto stood from the table, taking his dishes with him to the kitchen to put in the sink and continuing to talk as he did so, "I'll be busy most of the day, but I should be home at a decent time. You'll be here for dinner, right? I was thinkin-"

Naruto's rambling was cut off at the aggressive sound of Sasuke's stomach emptying itself and he ran back into the other room to see his partner kneeling awkwardly on the floor.

"Sasuke?!"

Sasuke had no idea what had happened. The dizzy spell had hit him again as he tried to pick up some egg with his chopsticks and the second the food had touched his tongue, his stomach had just lurched. He didn't even know he'd thrown up, or even that he was on the floor, until Naruto was next to him, rubbing his back and saying his name over and over again.

"I-I'm fine," Sasuke managed to choke out, breathing heavily.

"You puked all over the floor. I don't think that counts as fine."

"Well whatever it was is _gone_ now, isn't it? It's fine."

"Sasuke, go back to bed."

"Naruto, how many times do I need to tell you that I'm fine?"

"You're welcome to repeat yourself until it's actually true, but if you think I'm letting you go out on a mission of any kind after falling out of a chair and puking all over the floor, you're crazy."

"Naru-"

"Bed, Sasuke. Now." Naruto put on his Hokage voice as he got to his feet and pulled Sasuke up with him. He dragged the other man into the bedroom, Sasuke doing his very best to resist, and sat him down on the edge of the bed while he began to take off Sasuke's filthy clothes. 

The dizziness had come back as Sasuke struggled against Naruto taking his shirt off and he clutched at Naruto's own shirt front. "Naruto, stop. Just... give me a minute."

Naruto stopped, kneeling in front of his partner and studying the pained face before him. He'd never actually seen Sasuke sick before. In all their long years of knowing each other, the most was Sasuke losing his voice or maybe a bad headache. But never something like this and Naruto was actually _afraid_ for Sasuke's health. It was unnerving to see him in such a weak state. He cupped Sasuke's clammy cheek, brushing his thumb along the bone tenderly. "Just lie down, Sasuke. Please."

It was a knee-jerk reaction for Sasuke to want to fight him, to continue insisting he was fine, but he couldn't even get the words out as his vision went hazy and he fell forward...

When Sasuke woke up, he felt nauseous and cold, but the dizzy sensation seemed to have passed. He sat up slowly, hand to his forehead with the coming headache. He had no idea how long he had been out, but knew that the lack of food in his system was affecting him along with whatever bug he had caught. He heard chatter from the other room but didn't pay much attention as he slowly got out of bed and wrapped himself in the layers of blankets that were on the bed. Padding out of the bedroom, he saw Naruto had spread out on the kitchen table, laptop perched precariously on top of stacks of files and papers strewn about all over the place. He'd decided to work from home... all because of Sasuke...

A rush of shame and embarassment came over him and he looked down, hiding his face behind his hair. This was so stupid. 

"I'll call you back," Naruto said into his phone, meaning that he'd taken notice of Sasuke standing in the doorway. "Yeah. Okay. Perfect, thanks." Hanging up the phone, Naruto rose from his makeshift desk and came over to Sasuke. He wrapped his arms around him, over top of the blankets, and held Sasuke to his chest. "You should be in bed," he said softly into the depths of Sasuke's hair.

"You should be at work," Sasuke murmured back against Naruto's shoulder. "I'm fine."

"Clearly."

"I'm serious."

"Sure."

They stood quietly for a moment, Sasuke leaning against Naruto as he allowed himself to be held. All Naruto wanted to do take care of the stubborn moron, and if he could do his lame meetings from the kitchen, then that's what he would do. It's not like the Hokage's job was solely in the office anyway. It was his duty to take care of everyone living within the Land of Fire, including a sick Uchiha who refused to accept that care. Naruto kissed lightly at Sasuke's temple before releasing his hold enough to take a small step back. "Hungry?" he asked.

"Nauseous," Sasuke grumbled.

"Sit on the couch. I'll bring you something."

"Bossy."

Naruto forced himself not to laugh as Sasuke stalked away to go do as he was told, and only once he was out of sight did Naruto throw something together for Sasuke.

Naruto didn't end up getting back to work once he sat down with Sasuke, two bowls of ramen between them. With surprisingly little protesting, Sasuke had eaten the noodles and snuggled up against Naruto while both of them only half watched the TV. A few times Sasuke began to doze off against his partner, but woke up every time he felt Naruto kiss his forehead. 

"If you want me to go back to sleep you need to stop doing that."

"Shhh. Go to sleep." Naruto chuckled, kissing the top of his head again. "If you don't rest, you'll get stuck being sick."

Sasuke groaned, curling up tighter into Naruto's side. He'd stopped insisting that he was fine, but the vulnerability of being sick still sat like a heavy weight of anxiety in Sasuke's stomach. Or maybe that was still just regular nausea. At the same time, it had felt like ages since he and Naruto had spent an afternoon doing nothing together. In a weird way, it was nice. "You're not worried about catching anything?" he muttered after a moment as Naruto played with his hair.

"Not really. That would mean _you_ get to play nurse and take care of the poorly Lord Hokage." Naruto chuckled at his own stupid remark and Sasuke wished he had the energy to roll his eyes or slap him. "Seriously, Sasuke. You need to trust me with this stuff. The nightmares, the bad days, the _sick_ days... I'm here for you."

Sasuke was quiet for a moment, staring blankly at the TV before he said in a whisper low voice, "I know that, dobe."

Naruto sighed and removed himself carefully from the couch. "I'm gonna run a bath. It might help kill off the rest of that fever." 

As he walked away, Sasuke reached out and grabbed the sleeve of Naruto's jacket. "Naruto..." His voice died when he looked at Naruto, those blue eyes so full of compassion and understanding and... What exactly was it that Sasuke wanted to say? Why was it so hard for him to get the words out that would let Naruto know that Sasuke was fully aware of how much Naruto cared for him, how much he appreciated that care. "I-"

Naruto cut him off with a smile and a kiss to his cheek, "It's okay, Sasuke. Take your time." 

"Thanks."

"Any time, you idiot," Naruto grinned. "I'll be right back."

As he walked down the hallway towards the bathroom, Sasuke knew he had to say it sooner or later. It wasn't the time when he was sick, when he was angry at being sick, but once he was feeling better he knew he'd be on a clock to tell Naruto exactly how he felt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Won't lie, I don't feel like this is my best work but I tried...


	10. Hair

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto has always thought Sasuke had stupid hair.

"Hey! Are you even paying attention!"

"W-wha?" Naruto blinked as Sakura yelled at him. He'd zoned out again so no, he was _not_ listening. 

Sakura yelled at him some more in exasperation, but he had instantly gone back to not listening. He was focused on something else in the sun soaked forest they were all trekking through. Something so black it glinted blue in the light, shimmering and shining to a distracting degree. With a shake of his head, Naruto looked down at his feet. He shouldn't be staring at Sasuke, shouldn't be so distracted by his stupid hair.

Yeah. That was right. His hair was stupid. A ninja had no need for hair that shiny or soft or styled like... like a... like a duck's butt! That was it. That was the reason why Naruto was distracted. Sasuke's stupid duck-butt hair.

Sakura had given up as they continued through the trees and now Naruto was truly left alone with his thoughts.

At least until Sasuke appeared at his side. "Something wrong, dobe?"

Naruto flared immediately, "No. Why would there be?"

"Because for once you're actually quiet. It's bad for all of us if you're too distracted to pay attention and end up getting us all killed."

"I'm not gonna get us all killed! So why don't you and your stupid duck butt head butt out of my business?!"

Sasuke blinked in confusion, "Duck butt head?"

Naruto felt his face go scarlet and he did his best to cover, "What kinda ninja spends all that time styling his hair like that? Jeeze." He ran ahead then, trying to put as much distance between himself and the other boy. _Damnit_.

Sasuke was still confused as he followed behind Naruto now, but he never did press the issue again.

Standing in the kitchen, Sasuke chuckled softly to himself. He didn't know why the memory came to him out of the blue like that, but it was one that made him smile given his current circumstances.

"What's so funny?" Naruto asked, coming up behind him and wrapping his arms around Sasuke's waist.

"Nothing," Sasuke said, watching as his cup filled with coffee from the machine.

"Aw, come on. Tell me."

Rolling his eyes, Sasuke turned in Naruto's arms, setting his hand against the other man's chest. "Remember that time you called me 'Duck Butt Head'?"

Naruto flushed and it brought a smirk to Sasuke's face as he said, "I-I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You were more obsessed with me than Sakura was back then."

"I was not!"

As his partner's face grew a deeper and deeper shade of red, it pulled a genuine laugh out of Sasuke. A rare sound in general, but one that bought an extra flare of life to the world when he laughed. Grumpily, Naruto buried his face in the side of Sasuke's neck, before bringing a hand up to tangle in the ends of Sasuke's hair. He _did_ remember that time and it still embarrassed him, but feeling how soft and thick Sasuke's hair was now, he was pleased that his wandering childhood thoughts had been correct. He liked Sasuke's hair as it was - straight down to about his jaw line - but he often found himself missing the way it used to be styled. 

"You should change your hair back," Naruto murmured.

"And why would I do that?" Sasuke asked, pushing Naruto back just enough to meet his eyes.

With a wry smirk Naruto said, "Because I bet it'd look great after sex."

It was Sasuke's turn to flush as he smacked Naruto, but their kitchen was still full of laughter as Naruto reveled in how hilarious he thought he was.


	11. Coffee or Tea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke has a routine. Coffee in the morning, tea in the evening. Naruto drinks nothing but coffee and it's become a problem for both of them.

Naruto woke up suddenly to the sound of banging in the kitchen. Rubbing his eyes he looked around to see he was alone in the bedroom, so at least that meant it was Sasuke banging around and not some kind of noisy intruder. He took his time getting out of bed, finding his discarded pyjama bottoms from the night before, and then headed to see what in the hell had Sasuke so fired up this early in the morning.

"Good mo-"

Naruto wasn't able to finish his greeting before Sasuke had him pressed against the wall... and not exactly in a sexy way.

"Where's the coffee?" Sasuke growled, dark circles under his eyes accentuating the scary purple of his Rinnegan.

"We're out of coffee?" Naruto asked. "I thought there was still some left after I made coffee last night."

Sasuke growled low in his throat before stepping back to the counter and holding up the cannister that usually had coffee in it. "Does this look like enough to bother keeping?"

Naruto nervously into the cannister, gulping audibly when he saw there was barely enough left for a small espresso-sized cup let along the tall mug Sasuke favoured in the morning. "N-now, Sasuke," Naruto said, lifting his hands in surrender, "think about this rationally."

"I will think about this rationally when you start thinking in general."

Naruto knew it was just because it was early in the morning that Sasuke was so grumy. He didn't mean it... probably. "I can go get more, Sasuke. It's not the end of the world."

Naruto knew instantly that it was the wrong thing to say as Sasuke glared daggers at him. "It's five-thirty in the morning. You know as well as I do that nothing is open this early."

This was Naruto's chance. "Is that a challenge, teme?" Sasuke said nothing, but Naruto caught the slight change in his eyes so he continued with saying, "If I come back with coffee before you're finished getting ready, you have to forgive me right away. No questions asked."

"And if you don't?"

"Name your price," Naruto smirked. "Make it something you don't mind not getting since I'm gonna win."

Sasuke shifted his stance, putting his hand on his hip. "In that case, I'll name it when you get back."

"You're on," Naruto said, clenching his fist in determination like he did when they were kids. He kissed Sasuke's cheek quickly enough to avoid getting smacked away and was out the door without another word.

Sasuke sighed and went to the bathroom to start getting ready. As fast as Naruto was, Sasuke still had the time to move at a slow pace if he wanted to. Naruto at least deserved a chance to prove him wrong.

  
Naruto darted around the village looking for an open sign. Any open sign. He was sure he could talk someone in to letting him into a shop early if only he spotted them. He was the Hokage after all. He frustration built the longer he looked, and it hadn't really been all that long. What was bothering him was that he'd been careless. Sasuke had been different the last little while, ever since he'd been sick, and Naruto only wanted to try harder with their relationship. Sure, using all the coffee and not getting more was a pretty superficial mistake but it proved Sasuke was right. He wasn't thinking. With a groan Naruto went down a street he'd already been down, double checking that things were still closed.

"Naruto."

At the sound of his name Naruto turned and saw Shikamaru jogging towards him. "Shika? What are you doing out so early?"

"I could ask you the same thing. I was just on my way to your place to wake you up. The Anbu have found some trouble so an emergency call has been set up."

Naruto groaned, but not about the Anbu. "Right now?" he asked like a petulant child and Shikamaru quirked a brow at him.

"Yeah, now. Emergencies don't usually like to be kept waiting. Why? Did you have something more important to do?"

Naruto almost fell into the bait, almost admitted his bet with Sasuke - the village's worst kept but yet somehow unspoken secret being the relationship the Hokage had with his shadow - but then he had an idea. "Do you know any coffee shops in the area that are open this time?"

"Um, yeah. There's a few I can think of. Why?"

"I'll meet you at the office, go get a black coffee and leave it on the open window sill of my apartments, will ya? Oh! And leave a note on it that says 'I win'."

"Okay, but Naru-"

"Thanks Shikamaru! See you in a few."

As he watched the Hokage take off down the street, Shikamaru shook his head and lit a cigarette before walking back the way he came to fulfill Naruto's random request.

  
Sasuke shivered slightly as he turned off the hot water of the shower. Despite the steam, it felt chilly in the bathroom and he was quick to grab the towels to dry off. He wondered how long it would take Naruto to give up as he stepped into the quiet of the apartment. If he wasn't back already, there was no way he'd be back in time to win his silly bet. But that did mean that Sasuke had to come up with something he wanted...

Towelling off his hair as he walked into their bedroom Sasuke stoppped dead at the wafting smell of coffee once he opened the door. There on the windowsill was a to-go cup steaming with the delicious aroma of black coffee. Sasuke approached it and saw the napkin it sat on had a note scribbled on it.

I'm stealing your boyfriend for an emergency meeting. He said this was important though and to include "I win" in this message.  
\- Shikamaru  
PS. Don't panic. I won't tell anyone.

Sasuke's face went scarlet and he almost crushed the full cup of cofee as his hand clenched. The moment he was dressed, he was definitely going to fight both the Hokage and his adviser. 


	12. Cooking Together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke is tired of Naruto making instant ramen and calling it a meal. Thing is, Sasuke still hasn't clued in to needing help with every day tasks...

“I don’t understand why you won’t just let me cook it. I know what I’m doing with ramen.” 

Sasuke rolled his eyes as Naruto moped at the table behind him. “Instant ramen doesn’t count. And before you say say anything more, you spend far too much money at Ichiraku. You can have ramen just as good at home and I can prove that to you for less than half the cost.” 

Naruto put his chin on the table and pouted at Sasuke’s back. It wasn’t that he was actually bothered by the idea of Sasuke cooking for him, in fact he enjoyed the few moments where Sasuke played the role of house-husband, but Naruto wanted to play that part every now and again. Problem was… Naruto couldn’t cook to save his life. Shikamaru had offered to pass over some recipes after catching Naruto moping about it at his desk, but it all just seemed so overly complicated when instant ramen only took two minutes. 

“Stop pouting,” Sasuke scolded without needing to turn around and see Naruto's expression for himself. “If you’re going to loiter, you can at least set the table.” 

Like the petulant child he felt like, Naruto did as he was told and went to grab bowls from the cupboard. Just as he set them on the table, he heard a small noise and he turned just in time to catch the soft-boiled egg that had seemed to fly off the counter. With a smirk, Naruto came behind Sasuke, reaching around him to put the egg back on the counter. 

“Caught it,” Naruto chuckled. “You sure it’s cooked enough? I mean eggs don’t usually run away like that.”  Distracted by his stupid jokes, it took Naruto a moment to pick up on the tension in Sasuke’s back or how tightly he held the kitchen knife.  “Sasuke?” 

“I’m fine.” 

“Sasuke, wh-” 

Sasuke slammed his clenched hand on the counter. “I’m fine!” 

Naruto took a step back, his brain foggy with confusion. So an egg got away from him, what was the big… 

Oh… 

With a sigh, Naruto got a second kitchen knife from the drawer to Sasuke’s right before moving the eggs further down the counter. He carefully sliced them down the middle and said, “You know if you want me to get off my ass, you just need to say something. I’m not completely useless.” 

Sasuke was still tense beside him, but Naruto just kept on yammering, knowing if he talked long enough Sasuke would eventually relax enough to tell him to shut up. Finished with the eggs, Naruto grabbed the lettuce next and went to cut into it but was stopped as Sasuke reached out at grabbed his wrist, the knife he’d been holding left on the counter. 

“You’re doing that wrong,” came the tight reply. 

“Then tell me how to do it, Master Chef.” 

Sasuke guided Naruto’s hand by holding onto his wrist, showing him how to cut the lettuce properly. “How you kept yourself alive not knowing how to cut lettuce…” 

Naruto looked at him and pouted again but was quietly happy that his yammering had worked. “I had instant ramen! I wasn’t concerned with this stuff. Who says there’s a right way to cut food anyway? It all goes in your mouth.” 

Sasuke shook his head before looking to the stove top where the broth was coming to a boil. “When you’re done with that cut the carrots. Little circles. Thin. If you cut them too thick they won’t cook nicely.” 

Naruto did as he was instructed, hiding his relief as he did so. After losing his arm, Sasuke had refused to get a prosthetic, claiming the loss was penance for his crimes against Konohagakure. Naruto thought that was silly, but knew it was Sasuke’s decision to make. That being said, there were times that frustration for the loss of a limb came in full force, causing Sasuke to lash out in varying degrees of emotion. Naruto had learned the hard way not to offer Sasuke help while also knowing that Sasuke would rather die than admit he needed help. It was better to either play dumb to the fact that something was wrong or to pick a fight like they did when they were kids to distract from the issue.

“What’s that face for?” Sasuke asked, eying Naruto from the stove. 

“Huh? This is my face, moron.” 

Sasuke rolled his eyes, “Whatever, idiot.” 

The cheeky banter continued like that as the two men finished preparing the homemade ramen and even into actually eating it. Once their bowls were empty and Naruto half-heartedly admitted how good it was, he offered to wash up, leaving Sasuke alone in the next room pretending to watch TV. Somewhat stuck in his head, Sasuke flexed the joints of his hand and glared at his palm. He had done this to himself. It was his own damn fault he was like this and he needed to live with his choices but… 

"Damnit," he muttered. Yet again Sasuke found himself being berated by the vulnerability that came along with having only one arm that was the bigger issue Sasuke had. And there was Naruto, picking up on that vulnerability, knowing how to move around it without acknowledging things or making matters worse. Which somehow _made things worse_. Never in his life had Sasuke felt like he was being "taken care of" and he resented the moments where it felt like Naruto was looking after him just as much as he found a tiny flicker of serenity in the tenderness. Why was he so incapable of addressing these emotions? 

Naruto came out of the kitchen then and Sasuke found himself asking, "Why do you do that?"

“Do what?” Naruto asked in return flopping gracelessly onto the couch so he could rest his head in Sasuke’s lap. 

“What you… did before…” Sasuke felt juvenile hiding his face in his hair and avoiding looking down at Naruto. He could feel Naruto’s stare and forced the words out. “When you started cutting the eggs…” 

Naruto went very still in his lap and Sasuke forced himself to look down at those blue, blue eyes, saw how full of tenderness they were… And then the laughter hit and Sasuke would have pushed Naruto off the couch all together if the other man hadn’t have reached up to cup Sasuke’s face, his thumb brushing over Sasuke’s flushed cheek. 

“You think I don’t know how much you hate being told what to do? Or how much you hate asking for help?” Naruto smiled. “Come on, Sasuke, cut me some slack.” 

“But-” 

“But you _love_ telling me what to do, bossy Uchiha bastard. So what would you prefer? I mean I could leave you alone to mope about it, but then we’d both be miserable and that's not exactly the most fun thing in the world to do after being stuck in my office all day.”  Sasuke shifted his gaze to look away but Naruto sat up, forcing him to meet his eyes. “Don’t you think it’s about time you trusted me a little more?” 

There was quiet between them as Naruto continued to caress Sasuke's cheek. He knew the idiot was right, knew that part of the problem was Sasuke's constantly inability to let anyone get too close. 

“I’m sorry, Naruto,” Sasuke said quietly. “I…” 

“I know,” Naruto said, leaning in to kiss the corner of Sasuke’s mouth. “Stop trapping yourself in your head. You’re no fun when I can’t tease you properly.” 

With a groan, Sasuke pushed Naruto away from him but the other man grabbed his shirt and pulled him close for a proper kiss. Despite his half-hearted struggles to get away, Sasuke still somehow found himself smiling between kisses as he allowed himself to get tangled in Naruto.


	13. Working

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Naruto has been busy lately. Very busy. Sasuke isn't exactly happy about it, but he also isn't that into Naruto's attempt to make it easier.

"Sorry, Sasuke. I'm running late tonight."

"Morning! Gotta run!"

"A meeting came up last minute."

"You know I'd much rather be doing anything other than this paperwork, Sasuke, it's just...."

Excuse. Excuse. Excuse.

After another night on his own, Sasuke was starting to get annoyed. It had been two weeks since he had seen Naruto for more than a few minutes at a time. The Hokage was barely coming home to sleep let alone do anything else. It wasn't his thing to be lonely or clingy but a grown man had needs... At least that's what he kept telling himself in order to push down the emotions he didn't want to face every time he got a call from Naruto's office. As the television prattled on, the words little more than white noise in Sasuke's ears, he figured he should just go to bed. There wasn't much else for him to do. With Naruto gone so much, the apartment was completely in order meaning there wasn't even cleaning to do.

With a sigh, Sasuke got to his feet and stretch before turning off the TV.

But that's when he heard the door.

He turned quickly and saw that messy blonde hair, those blue eyes, that stupid smile. "Naruto," he said softly.

"Hey, sorry I'm so late," Naruto smiled back and Sasuke found himself acting on some sort of instinct as he crossed the living room to get to Naruto into the entry way.

Naruto's arms came around Sasuke's waist and it would have been so perfect had Sasuke not looked closer as he brought his hand up to cup Naruto's cheek. Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he stepped out of Naruto's grasp sharply.

"Sasu-"

Sasuke last out with a quick strike and the poof of smoke his foot passed through filled him with a rage. A clone. He had sent Sasuke a _shadowclone_. He had thought Sasuke would _fall for it_.

 _And I almost did_ , he thought bitterly. _Have I become that desperate?_

Angrier at Naruto than he had been in years, Sasuke put on his shoes, threw his cloak around his shoulders and stormed out of the apartment. There was no excuse for such stupid behaviour and he had had it. Both of them held positions of power, _both of them_ were usually busy, and they _both_ understood what their jobs meant. Being apart for extended periods of time was normal, something they understood about each other. It was why - among other reasons - why things hadn't worked out with Sakura, someone who wasn't able to understand. Sasuke thought Naruto understood him better than to pity him like this.

Naruto sat at his desk, feeling his exhausted in the weight of the bags under his eyes. He still had so much to do before he could even think about taking a break, the stacks of reports towering around him mocking him. How was it possible for there to be so much paperwork on his desk? There had to be a paper shortage in the village due to the amounts of it all. He rubbed his eyes with a sigh, longing to just go to bed, before picking his pen back up and trying to read the report before him for what was sure to be the millionth time. The sooner he got through this, the sooner he could go home, the sooner he could smile as Sasuke berated him for something silly again. 

His door burst open with a loud bang and he looked up with annoyance, wondering what Shikamaru wanted now.

"Sasuke?" he said in astonishment as it was the raven haired man glaring from the doorway and not the bearded brunette he was expecting. He stood up, "What are you-"

"A _shadowclone_ , Naruto?" Sasuke demanded immediately. "A _shadowclone_?!"

Naruto felt his stomach drop, "Sasuke, I-"

"Save it," Sasuke hissed, radiating the rage that was clearly painted on his face. "Who the hell do you think I am?"

"Sasuke, come on. I just-"

"Just _what,_ Naruto? You said it yourself that you want me to trust you more after all this time, but you think that means you can pull _this_? I-"

In a flash, Naruto was in front of Sasuke, his hands firmly on the other man's face as he pressed their lips together. He felt Sasuke wanting to pull away just as much as he felt the need when instead Sasuke kissed him back. It wasn't a nice kiss, it was hungry and angry and raw. It was demanding as Sasuke fisted Naruto's shirt and pressed his body flush against Naruto, who's hands had slipped from Sasuke's face into the soft black hair. It was endless as much as it was fast and before Naruto could think, he felt Sasuke's harsh slap as their kiss broke. Naruto said nothing as he put fingers to his stinging cheek, watching Sasuke carefully as the rage still flickered in his dark eyes, the Rinnegan flashing menacingly even as Sasuke panted.

"You do that again and I'll kill you, you hear me? I get _you. All of you_. Or none at all."

Naruto nodded stiffly.

"Good."

Sasuke turned sharply and made for the door.

"Sasuke, wait," Naruto said, taking his hand from his face to reach for Sasuke.

"Get back to work," was the cold reply Sasuke gave without turning back. And then he was out the door again.

Naruto didn't know how long he was standing there in his office like a dumbfounded moron, but he didn't care about work anymore. He wanted to go home, to kiss Sasuke in apology until he had made up for his mistake. He should have known better, but he felt guilty since Sasuke wasn't on an extended mission of his own. There was a knock on the door frame and Naruto was pulled from his thoughts. It actually was Shikamaru this time, two cups of coffee in his hands.

"Shouldn't you be asleep on the reports?" Shikamaru teased, but then seeing the look on the Hokage's faced asked, "You okay?"

"Yeah," Naruto said. "I... Yeah."

Shikamaru frowned. "I thought I heard Sasuke a second ago."

Naruto turned back to his desk, sitting behind it and forcing his face to relax. "It's nothing."

"You sure?"

"Yeah... We've got lots of work to do. I don't think I'll end up going home."

Shikamaru frowned as he set the coffee next to Naruto's elbow but didn't say anything else as the two of them got back to work.

Sasuke stared up at the bedroom ceiling. Naruto hadn't come home the night Sasuke yelled at him. Or the day after that. Or the day after _that_. He didn't think he'd been unfair. He was honest and told Naruto what he expected of him. That was fine, wasn't it? With a groan he rolled over and buried his face in Naruto's pillow, feeling like a teenager. The fabric barely smelled like him anymore and that only made Sasuke feel more angry. He rolled over again and hurled the pillow at the wall before getting out of bed, giving up entirely on trying to sleep. Maybe he'd get dressed and go train in the old yard of the long abandoned Uchiha complex like he used to. It might clear his head or at the very least burn off the energy that was keeping him awake. He got dressed and left the bedroom ready to blow off some steam.

And then the door opened.

"Sasuke?" Naruto asked, closing the door behind him and seeing his partner standing fully dressed in the room. "I thought you'd be asleep."

"Shouldn't you still be working?" Sasuke said, his voice flat.

"I'm... um, done for the night."

Sasuke made a noise in his throat and focused his attention on the man in front of him. It wasn't an illusion or a clone this time, it was the real Naruto. So why was Sasuke still so mad? "Take a shower before you go to bed. I'm sure you could use one."

Naruto didn't even have the chance to say anything in response before Sasuke turned away from the door and went out through the window. Naruto sighed sadly, knowing he went that way to avoid Naruto preventing him from leaving. It had been _days_ since Naruto had been home and he had hoped that had been enough time for Sasuke to have some space after what had happened. Clearly _space_ hadn't been what Sasuke needed and now Naruto felt even worse. He had a feeling he knew where Sasuke had run off too, but Naruto was at his limit, he didn't have any strength left after being so busy... So instead of going after Sasuke, Naruto did as he was told and went to take a shower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TO BE CONTINUED IN THE NEXT SHORT....


	14. Family Visit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continued from the previous chapter, Naruto seeks to make things up to Sasuke.

Sasuke panted heavily as wiped the sweat from his brow on the back of his sleeve. The training dummies he unearthed from the depths of his old home lay before him entire mutilated beyond the point of even considering them repairable. It had been hours since he left the apartment and yet he still felt entirely too tightly wound. For the first time since he was a child, Sasuke felt alone. The feeling only tightened the coil in his stomach and made him even angrier at his situation. 

Emotions like this were stupid, pointless, and entirely unproductive.

So why were they eating him alive?

From the shadows, Naruto sat quietly on the wall of the compound borders. He'd only been here once or twice in between missions to find Sasuke when they were younger, hoping to find a clue of something to bring him back, and forgot just how expansive the place was. Watching Sasuke take full advantage of the open space Naruto was awed by the extent of Sasuke's abilities. But it didn't look like the aggressive attempt at blowing off steam was doing much good. He could see the war raging inside of his partner and knew it was an emotional one. They'd known each other a long time and Naruto was more than aware that Sasuke didn't handle emotions very well outside of "mad" and "not mad". He needed to talk to him, but wasn't sure how to go about it without getting his head ripped off. 

Carefully, Naruto moved down the wall as he saw Sasuke walk away from the spot he'd been standing in for the last several moments. Following as quietly as he could, Naruto kept a careful pace as Sasuke walked through the complex, making his way towards a far corner... a small shrine.

Naruto's brow furrowed in sadness. There was little in the apartment he shared with the Uchiha orphan that wasn't new. A few clothes from their youth, a few books, but no real keepsakes that either of them had. Naruto never had anything from his parents, but Sasuke had chosen to abandon everything here. Including anything to honour the family he lost right before his eyes. As they had grown up, Naruto had gain more friends from all over the place, people who he considered family, but Sasuke hadn't seemed to make similar bonds of his own save for with Naruto. Sasuke's heated reaction was starting to make more sense now that Naruto was seeing him like this in this place.

A chill ran through Sasuke's back and he fought the shiver as he knelt before the stone. He hadn't thought of his parents much at all since he lost Itachi and learned the truth, this was a final call for help. And yet he couldn't think of what to say to them. That he was a traitor who was granted forgiveness by the same Hogake he was having a somewhat secret affair with? That the same Hokage was working too hard for the sake of the village to pay him much attention and it upset him? He sighed at his own emotional incompetence and dropped his head in self-shame.

"Good evening, Mister and Missus Uchiha."

Sasuke didn't look up at the sound of Naruto's voice, he shouldn't have been surprised that he'd been followed but something about Naruto greeting his parents next to him had his heartbeat fluttering.

"I'm sorry I've never come by to greet you before. I'm Uzumaki Naruto, the seventh Hokage of Konoha, and your son is my best friend even if he has his problems." Naruto laughed and went on, Sasuke listening carefully. "He's constantly grumpy and calling me an idiot. He takes forever in the bath and always complains that no one can live solely on ramen but if that was true, I wouldn't be Hokage."

Naruto could see in his peripherals that Sasuke's hand was clutched in a white-knuckled fist. He waited a moment, keeping his eyes focused straight ahead, before he took a steady breath and continued. "But he'd have made you proud. I don't have to know you to know that much. He works harder than anyone else and carried the weight of what happened to you for years. Not everyone can see it, even now, but there's no one more loyal than your son. He cares deeply about the things that matter to him, even when he doesn't show it openly. He takes care of others and himself like second nature. There's no one I trust more with important matters than Sasuke. And... and I need to remember to thank him for what he does, not just for the village, not just for the Hokage, but for _me_."

"Naruto," Sasuke breathed, looking up wide-eyed at the man next to him.

"I'm sorry for not being able to take better care of your son." Naruto bowed deeply before the stone. "I hope you can forgive me as I try harder."

Beside him, Sasuke was stunned into silence. His eyes burned and he tried to shake the feeling, but found it wasn't going away as his vision grew blurry. His chest felt so tight as the honesty in Naruto's words sunk into him.

After a long moment, Naruto sat back on his knees and turned to Sasuke. He smiled softly and reached over to brush a thumb along his cheek, wiping the stray tear that rolled down towards his chin. He didn't say anything, just looked at Sasuke with that conditionless kindness only Naruto was capable of. Before he even knew what he was doing, Sasuke lurched forward, wrapping his arm behind Naruto's back and burying his face in the man's neck. Naruto's strong arms wrapped around Sasuke in return, holding him close as he kissed the dark hair that tickled his nose. 

"Let's go home," Naruto said quietly. "You're going to catch another cold if we stay out here."

Sasuke made a noise against Naruto's shoulder that he couldn't make out.

"I can't hear you."

Sasuke sat back, his face blotchy from the tears and Naruto instantly wiped at them with one hand while keeping the other wrapped around Sasuke. He leaned forward quickly and kissed Naruto chastely.

When they parted, Naruto was still smiling, "Sasuke, I lo-"

Sasuke put his hand over Naruto's mouth and his brow twitched as he had a small frown on his face. "Don't. I... Not yet."

"Okay," Naruto said, pulled Sasuke's hand away after kissing the palm. "Let's go home," he said again. "I have some making up to do, wouldn't you say?"

"You do. Let's go."

They both stood and walked away hand-in-hand. "You should bring me back here in the daytime. I should probably meet your parents properly, don't you think?" 

Even in the dim like, Naruto saw the blush on Sasuke's face. "I guess."

Naruto laughed as they passed through the large gate and Sasuke squeezed his hand, feeling at least a little bit lighter with Naruto at his side.


End file.
